Holidays in Aix-en-Provence

Mallory and Papa Noel

The holidays were truly memorable in Aix. While we missed our family and friends in the states, we really enjoyed learning about the holiday traditions in France, Germany, England, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland.

For example, my friend Annina informed me that the REAL Santa Claus is Finnish and that one can visit Santa at the North Pole workshop in Lapland (but that it is a bit touristy, like Euro-Disney). She enjoyed learning about the Polar Express and the Twelve Days of Christmas we celebrate in the United States.

Anja, my German friend, moved here in August and has three children who are learning English and French simultaneously. The children were especially pleased to sing "O Tannenbaum" at our holiday party. And our French friend Claude literally jumped to his feet and led the group in singing that special German carol as he was thrilled to be singing a European song!

The town of Aix was all decked out for the holidays for over a month, with special colored lights at the fountain, garland and lights hung all throughout the old town and the annual Christmas Market with festive booths selling everything from jewelry and toys to chocolate covered apples, warm spiced wine and "barbe a papa" (cotton candy). In addition to the booths, a carnival was set up at one end of the Cours Mirabeau featuring colorful rides for the children. For a month, we were tempted with wonderful shopping options and bumper cars, Shane's holiday obsession.

Christmas Market in Aix-en-Provence

Syd and Shane shopping in town

Even Shane enjoys French fashion!

Mallory checking out the lavender wands and ornaments at our friend Roseanne's Christmas Market booth on the Cours Mirabeau

Mallory and Sarah enjoy the carnival rides on the Cours Mirabeau

Shane was a real hot-shot on the bumper cars (with Mal and Sarah coming in for a surprise hit!)

Shane mandated that we include this photo with pal Thomas at the fair

HOLIDAY PARTIES

We hosted a "Champagne, Cookies and Carols" party for our international friends

The Guys

The Gals

Mal's music teacher, Hilary, sang several special holiday songs and led the Christmas carols

Julie and Mal, post-party

Mallory and Shane both hosted holiday baking parties with friends

Mallory's friends all baked cookies from their native countries for a festive cookie exchange

Shane loved decorating cookies!

In addition to decorating cookies, Shane's friends enjoyed lunch and American holiday classic cartoons like "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman"

We attended an Anglo-American Group of Provence Christmas Party

Shane met Santa Clause/Papa Noel...

...and sang "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!!!"


Shane, Alys, Max and Ethan decorated mini-Sapins de Noel

In celebration of the holidays, the children each participated in their school's "Spectacles"

Shane's school put on a full production of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves." Shane was a camel herder and loved singing, "All these camels belong to Ali Baba!"


Mallory's music class sang carols at pick-up one afternoon and also performed during the International Bilingual School's "Spectacular"

Julie enjoyed volunteering with Anja, Annina and Kerry


Julie and pal Nathalie got into the spirit at the Set Club on a sunny December afternoon

The children also sang in a church choir at Saint Sauveur, a lovely, historic church in Aix-en-Provence

Video of the children singing....Shane is the first on the right in the front row (wearing a the blue sweater) and Mallory is the third from the right in the third row

CHRISTMAS EVE AND MORNING

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve celebration with the Bates family(Mallory's BFF's family- best friend in France!) and a very quiet, relaxing Christmas day with our family.

All decked out on Christmas Eve in front of our Sapin de Noel

Webkinz were a real Santa treat since you can not purchase them in France

Santa brought Shane a Nintendo DS and gave Mal a nice digital camera (hopefully she will post some photos this year!).

In addition to Santa filling up their stockings, Papa Noel made a visit and put treats in their shoes, a unique French tradition.

Riley loved the holidays....especially the lovely gifts from Nana and Papa. He is now obsessed with playing tug-a-war with his new chew toy!

Luberon Adventure

We Americans--proud of our Rocky, Smoky and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges--pay little attention to the great mountains of Europe. Who among you can name any mountains in France, for example? Well, let the humbled and astonished Butlers add the Luberon Mountains to your list of places to visit on your next Continental jaunt. Visit Provence with its sunny villages and cheery lifestyle, but add in the Luberon for sheer cliffs, ancient roads, prehistoric forts, villages perches, s and that serene feeling of space and solitude that if you don't need you should stay on your beltway with your Starbucks coffee mug clenched in one hand and your cell phone in the other.


In late October, as the following photos will testify, we arrived at the estate of Bernard and Mathilde Roussel where we breathed fresh mountain air, hosted our Canadian friends the Sustronks from Toronto and the Dupuys from Aix, savored local vin rouge, cheeses and daube (imagine a beef stew prepared and pampered over several days), and walked along roads built and traveled on by Roman legions. There was Halloween of course, with a campfire, painted faces, and a night sky with the appropriate moon for ghost stories. There were horses, puppies and hangovers, and a deep sense of gratitude for a country, its people and its history.

Mal and Shane--and a Bit of Heaven Behind

Luberon Cliffs Rising Above a Roman Road

Bernard and Mathilde's Beautiful Home and Truffle Farm


Shane and Mal in a Moment of Lovey-Dovey

Puppy Love Extraordinaire

Encore Puppy Love

Mal regarde le nez de Riley

Sur le route des Cedres pres de Bonnieux

Can Life be More Idyllic?

Rock Stars to Be

Ghouls Dancing on Halloween

Phil Sustronk and Syd Acting Their Age

A Famous Rock Climbing Wall Near the Ancient Fort of Buoux

Syd and Julie with Natalie and Jerome Dupuy

Shane and Natalie Dupuy

The Red Ochre Cliffs of Roussillon


Fields Viewed from Roussillon

Fountain in Roussillon

Bell and Clock Tower in Roussilon

A Roussillon Street

Syd in Roussillon

Shane and Dad

Les Enfants Butler

Fall in Provence

Fall in Provence was a whirlwind of activities and visits with family and friends, so forgive this LONG blog entry with hopefully enough photos to keep your interest!

JULIE'S PARENTS
We celebrated the arrival of Fall with a memorable three-week visit with Julie’s parents. They arrived on the first day of school and were a tremendous help as we settled into the academic groove. From delicious meals and bedtime stories to early morning croissant runs and daily walks for Riley, Al and Patt became indispensable. We are still trying to get organized since they left! It was such a pleasure to be able to spend quality time Al, who turned 87 in June and Patt, who turned 80 in October. They have tremendous energy and are so healthy – it was truly a gift to be with them!

Patt and Al with the children in Aix-en-Provence

While the children were in school, we enjoyed several lovely day trips to St. Remy, Mausanne, Cassis and the Calanques. Al and Patt really enjoyed lunches and market shopping in Aix. Al even got in a few golf games with our Canadian friend, Phil!

Al, Patt and Julie at the Calanques

Al, Patt and Syd in Paradou

While Al and Patt were here, we enjoyed a special visit with our Belgian cousins, Luc and Jeanine Bouchier. We also visited Luc and Jeanine with the children at their summer vacation home in Eyzahut and in Belgium at a family reunion.

Julie, Shane, Syd, Mallory, Jeanine and Luc in Eyzahut, France

BELGIUM HISTORY: In 1993, Julie and Syd visited Watervliet, Belgium, birthplace of Julie’s grandmother Clara DeMeulenare (Al’s mother). Clara was 5 years old when her parents, Charles and Eugenia, immigrated to America with their four children (they later had five more children after they settled in Iowa – they were good Catholics!). Julie had a special relationship with Clara who lived to 100 years old and captivated her granddaughter with stories from "the old country."

While in Belgium in ‘93, Julie traced the family back to the 17th century and met the historian of tiny Watervliet, Joseph De Paupe. Joseph’s keen interest in Watervliet’s history and Clara’s story led him to eventually find the missing family link – Eugenia’s sister Leone’s descendants. In 2001, Julie brought her parents to Watervliet for the first international family reunion which we repeated on September 30, 2007. This time, Mallory joined us, representing the fifth generation of Eugenia and Leone!

DeBruyker Family Reunion, Watervleit, Belgium

We enjoyed several days in Ghent with cousins Luc, Jeanine, Arlette and Rene, along with Joseph and his wife, Lieve.

Nana and Mallory at the Ghent, Belgium train station

Luc, Mallory, Patt and Jeanine at our hotel in Ghent

Joseph and Lieve De Paupe sharing the history of Ghent

Julie and her dad enjoying ALL that makes Belgium so special!

Cousins Arlette, Jeanine, Luc and Rene in Ghent

Joseph and Lieve opened their home to Julie and Mallory who spent two nights with them in Watervliet. Joseph shared many historical details and drove Julie and Mallory to the area of town where Clara lived.

The church in Watervliet where Clara was baptized

The area where Clara was born and lived until her family immigrated to the U.S.

Joseph at his home in Watervliet

MALLORY

Mallory has thrived in every way in France, easily making new international friends, excelling in the language and soaking up all things French…from hair styles and clothes to French pop rock songs.

Her best pals here are Kae and Sarah. Kae is French and totally bilingual, a gorgeous and helpful friend who takes a weekly art class with Mallory. Sarah is a Bostonian, spending her second year in Provence. Sarah has been a great pal and they have enjoyed many sleepovers, study sessions and giggle-a-thons (somehow I think I am going to get a 12 year old "WHAT-ever" for that last comment!).

Mallory and Sarah

SHANE
Shane really enjoys his bilingual school and is excelling according to his teachers. He might be full of LOTS OF ENERGY at home, but he is focusing and succeeding at school.

Shane pouring wine for the Provence Marathon runners

He turned six on October 3 and had two festive French celebrations. The first was at his school. He requested a Batman cake, so I did my best….

Shane and Julie on Shane's 6th birthday

Later, he had a very active three-hour party at our tennis and swim club with all of his classmates. They played soccer, basketball and ran about like crazy!

Shane, the goalie!

Shane really enjoys France, but he still longs for friends in Washington. Growing up on a street with 6 boys the same age has always provided him with instant play dates. Tomasa had organized activities with his best friend and school classmate Collin every day for almost 5 years. That’s a special friendship that is hard to replicate. I think we had a breakthrough the other day when he said, "I really like France….I just wish it was in Washington."

He is mastering French pronunciations and constantly, politely corrects my attempts at the language. His best pals here are Thomas (Canadian), Charlie (French Canadian) and Alys (gorgeous American from Louisiana).

Charlie, Shane and Thomas

SYD AND JULIE

Syd spends his free time playing tennis, working out and advancing his French. He finds new validations for our decision to move here each day as he discovers new shops, markets and friends. He never meets a stranger and seems to be on a first name basis with most shopkeepers in town! His good humor and optimism ensure that any minor problem due to the language or culture barrier is but a minor bump in the road.

Syd and Mallory in Roussillon

I have treasured making so many international friends, especially through weekly hikes, tennis lessons and even some cooking classes.

Susie and Julie hiking in the Calanques

What a gift to learn about life in Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Sri Lanka and Thailand to name a few. We are truly living in a melting pot and it is quite invigorating! I must admit that my biggest disappointment is not learning enough French. When English is the default language, it can be quite easy to get around without knowing more than the basic pleasantries in French. I am taking a weekly class which is not enough, so my New Year’s Resolution will include 2-3 private classes a week and several weekly meals with the family spoken only in French. Perhaps that will help Shane sit still and focus while eating!!

I have enjoyed maintaining a leadership role with St. Jude, spending this year as a consultant on several specific projects. I travelled to Amsterdam for an international conference where I met development professionals from all over the world. The potential for St. Jude abroad is tremendous and I hope to be a part of sharing the hospital’s incredible mission with the European community. I also had the pleasure of attending our 19th annual Wall Street Dinner in NYC which raised over $2.2 million for the hospital. The event was the culmination of a full year’s planning by a dynamic group of professionals I truly enjoy working with.

So, with that said, I need to sign off and get to work! Syd will write the next update about our Fall vacation in the Luberon Mountains, recent visit with his brother and pre-holiday activates in Aix. I am sure his writing will be more succinct and humorous – so don’t let my long-winded posting scare you away!!!

Au revoir!